What the Hell Is This New Macworld?

A renamed Apple expo with lots of accessories. And Modest Mouse.

What is the Macworld Expo? It's a tradeshow, sponsored by Macworld magazine, centered exclusively on all things Apple. It's taking place right about now in San Francisco, right back where it started in 1985.

So Apple will be there, right? You would think so, huh? Actually, Apple has made important use of the show in the past — Steve Jobs debuted the iPhone there, and then MacBook Air — but the company pulled out a few years ago, leaving things, more or less, to developers and a bunch of people who just really love Apple. App-makers are on the up, but attendance is down, so this year the expo got re-branded as the significantly more awkward-looking Macworld | iWorld, which hopes to open itself up to a cross-section of creative types, including, of all people, Modest Mouse.

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Wait, Modest Mouse is playing Macworld? Yeah, we weren't sure what they were up to either. There's also a feature-length film shot entirely on a cell phone, starring Gena Rowlands, and an art gallery dedicated to South Park. And then there are the more expected demonstrations from more than 300 third-party companies, like HP, and an OS X "Zone" where you can play around with all their new gadgets.

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Is there any actual technology I'd want to use? Well, yeah: Hundreds of iPhone apps and extras come out of this thing, some slightly more useful than others (audio recognition of TV shows?). But there are a few genuinely cool tools, like a power outlet with built-in USB adapters, an app that turns your iPhone into a universal remote, an extremely waterproof iPhone case, and another case that doubles as a bottle-opener. Good for cookouts.

Is this worth going to? Maybe if you really love Modest Mouse. Otherwise, stick to the blogs.